The Ross County Grand Jury returned 20 indictments, four of which were open, during Friday's session.
Officials with the Prosecutor's Office said a Chillicothe woman was officially charged in a case where a man reported his car stolen from Toledo Street on January 24th. Local authorities reportedly found Megan R. Oliver, 29, driving the car just east of Douglas Avenue. Oliver has been indicted on a fourth-degree felony of grand theft.
Also indicted include:
- Ronald A. Whitaker, 55, of Chillicothe, for a third-degree felony of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Whitaker was allegedly the driver of a vehicle that had been pulled over for a signal violation on February 23rd. Officials with the Prosecutors Office said Whitaker's license was suspended at the time and that he reportedly showed signs of alcohol use and intoxication but would not take field sobriety tests. Whitaker was indicted on a third-degree felony charge because the Ross County Prosecutor's Office said Whitaker had three prior felony DUI convictions since 1997.
- Leonard K. Lowery, 33, of Chillicothe, for attempted trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present (F5) and burglary (F3); Mark P. Delp, 38, of Chillicothe, for attempted trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present (F5) and complicity to burglary (F3). According to officials with the Ross County Prosecutor's Office, on January 17th, a resident of Marlboro Drive in Chillicothe reported that someone tried to enter the back door and a shed while he/she was home, and he/she had a video record of it. The alleged victim also reported he/she was familiar with the vehicle the three suspects were in. Later that day, a resident on Anderson Station Road returned home and found his/her door open and items missing. The same three suspects recorded in the video were located by a sheriff's deputy nearby, officials with the Prosecutors Office said. Delp allegedly admitted he was at the earlier residence but was the driver and did not try to enter. A third indicted woman had not yet been arrested.
An indictment is not a guilty conviction; rather, it is a formal charge of a serious crime.